The Dark Phoenix Saga for me is and example of comics at their best - art and writing firing on all cylinders, filled with plot twists, high stakes, colorful characters and gut wrenching melodrama. It's too bad the X-Men film franchise only kinda-sorta touched upon that storyline when if done properly it could be one of the most epic comic adaptations ever.
I must say I never paid much attention to Jean Grey in her Marvel Girl persona, it was only when she underwent her Phoenix transformation that she really started to get interesting. I haven't followed the X-titles too closely recently, but I think she is currently dead (again). Comics get a deservedly bad rap for killing off characters only to bring them back from the grave time and again, but I think that complain has to be waived when it comes to The Phoenix - I mean, death and rebirth are part of the whole concept! With that in mind, I hope we see Jean back among the living soon.
While already a DC fan/reader for a couple of years at this point, Uncanny X-men 137 was my first foray into the Marvel Universe and a VERY powerful issue as originally presented.
ReplyDeleteBut the stuff that has happened since with the character has cheapend that original story to the point that it has lost all its dramatic impact. :(
That is an awesomecover! I never read the X-Men in their heyday. I opted for The New Teen Titans. I've heard how great the X-Men were; but every time I hear how great they WERE, I hear how not so great they are NOW.
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